Letter-box



i I (No Model. E J. MQLANE.

LETTER BOX.

I No. 344,489 Patented June 29, 1886.

1 B IIIIIPII illlHil JOHN MOLANE, OF MILFORD, NE\V HAMPSHIRE.

LETTER-BOX.

flPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 344,489, dated June 29, 1886.

Application filed March 2, 1886. Serial No. 193,750. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, JOHN MOLANE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milford, in the county of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to post-office and similar boxes; and its object is to provide means for holding letters, postal-cards, 850., in an erect position within the box or pigeonholes and from against the sides thereof, so that they can be easily inspected, taken hold of, and withdrawn from the box.

To this end the invention consists of a spring or springs arranged within the box to hold the articles up from the floor and sides of the box by the pressure of the spring or springs, as hereinafter more particularly de scribed and claimed.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a front view in elevation of a box having a set of pigeon-holes, showing my improvement in position; Fig. 2, a plan view with the top of the box removed, and Fig. 3 a detail.

Referring to the drawings, A is a thin 1netallic bandspring, one end of which is socured at b to the box-casing, the spring curved inwardly, and its opposite end left free and bent slightly, so as to press flatly against the inner wall of the box or pigeon-hole. B is another spring of the same character and form on the opposite side of the box or pigeon-hole, and these springs are so arranged that they meet and press together at the center of the box or pigeon-hole, as shown 5 or the springin one side of a pigeon-hole and the spring on the same side in the adjacent pigeon-hole may be made of one piece and bent and riveted at the center to the face of the partition, as shown at c, 1. These springs, being free at one end, and by reason of their thinness and flexibility, can be pressed flat against the sides of a box, so as to permit it to be filled as full of letters, cards, or other papers and documents as can a box without them, and at the same time the letters, 850., will be held up between the springs, and thus prevented from being pushed or cramped against the sides, or pressed flat against the bottom, or twisted and crumpled together, as in crowded ordinary boxes. They can thus be easily withdrawn, or easily inspected without being withdrawn.

A coiled or other form of spring might possibly be used in place of the fiat band-spring I have shown, and arranged vertically within the box instead of lengthwise; but Iprefer the form of spring and the manner of securing it to the box as herein shown.

My invention is equally applicable to letter lock-boxes and all similar structures.

I am aware that it is not new to secure c011- cavo-convex springs in a vertical position upon a rack for the purpose of holding letters, as shown in Patent No. 334,532, and also that it is not new to secure one end of a spring on one side of and within a box, the spring being so bent that its free end will engage with the opposite side of the box, as in Patent No. 335,782. I lay no claim to anything shown or described in either of those patents.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- The combination, with a letter-box, of two bent springs, as A B, arranged longitudinally of the box, their middle convex portions touching each other, one end of each spring being secured to the box, and the other end left free to slide along the walls of the box, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ll'loLANE.

lVitnesses:

J os. H. BLACKWOOD, ANDREW PARKER. 

